The place to be this weekend is the Art of the Americas Building, where two new exhibitions are opening: Manly Pursuits: The Sporting Images of Thomas Eakins and Catherine Opie: Figure and Landscape.
Thomas Eakins, “The Biglin Brothers Turning the Stake,” 1873, the Cleveland Museum of Art, Hinman B. Hurlbut Collection, 1984.1927, photo courtesy the Cleveland Museum of Art
Catherine Opie, Untitled #7, courtesy Julia Pistor and David Eisenman, © Catherine Opie
Though their work is separated by almost a century, the Opie and Eakins shows work as complements to each other—both studying the athlete and the culture of sports. The show opens to the public on Sunday. Here’s where it pays to be a member, though: the shows are open today and tomorrow for members only.
Opie fans, be sure to come on Sunday. The artist will be in conversation with writer Eileen Myles in the Bing Theater. The event is free, though tickets are required; they’ll be available one hour prior to the conversation.
Also opening on Sunday is a small installation nestled inside the Eakins show: Tad Beck: Palimpsest. Be sure not to miss it if you’re here. We’ve got a blog post in the works about this installation coming soon.
Our Ernst Lubitsch series is now into its third weekend. Tonight sees a double feature of musicals made with Maurice Chevalier and Jeanette McDonald—One Hour with You and The Merry Widow. Here’s the trailer for the latter:
Saturday the Lubitsch love continues with To Be or Not to Be and A Royal Scandal, written and produced by Lubitsch but directed by Otto Preminger due to Lubitsch’s health problems in 1945.
If art and film aren’t your thing (though surely they are your thing, since you’re reading a museum blog), perhaps it’s the free concerts that will lure you here. Tonight Grant Geissman and his Cool Man Cool Band will take the stage for Jazz at LACMA. Head to his website for audio and video samples. Don’t forget the galleries are also free to L.A. County residents after 5 pm.
Tomorrow guitarist Ciro Hurtado will perform in Hancock Park for Latin Sounds. Here’s a video of Hurtado performing “Manha de Carnaval”
Finally, stick around after seeing the new exhibitions on Sunday to catch artists from iPalpiti perform an Homage to Schumann in the Bing Theater.